Hello hannalo,Nope, not a stupid question at all! Most people don't boil water inthe microwave, because if you overheat it you can get hurt.To boil plain water in a microwave, use a large (4-cup) Pyrexmeasuring cup (Pyrex being virtually unkillable in the microwave). Fill with the desired amount of water, then *stick a chopstick orwooden skewer in it*. Stir it a bit, leave the chopstick/skewer inthe cup, and heat on high for one minute per cup of water (so 2minutes for two cups, etc.):"Take 1 cup water. Heat it in the microwave on high power for 1minute. (In a 1000 Watt microwave it takes 1 minute to boil 1 cup ofwater)."Boiling Waterhttp://www.risingchefs.com/boilwater.htmSo what's with the stick in the water? Water acts funny when heatedin the microwave - rather than bubble, it can just become superheated,and not appear to be boiling until you put something into it. Byleaving the chopstick or skewer in there, you're allowing the energyto be diffused and reducing your risk of injury:"The FDA has received reports of serious skin burns or scaldinginjuries around people's hands and faces as a result of hot watererupting out of a cup after it had been over-heated in a microwaveoven. Over-heating of water in a cup can result in superheated water(past its boiling temperature) without appearing to boil.This type of phenomena occurs if water is heated in a clean cup. Ifforeign materials such as instant coffee or sugar are added beforeheating, the risk is greatly reduced. If superheating has occurred, aslight disturbance or movement such as picking up the cup, or pouringin a spoon full of instant coffee, may result in a violent eruptionwith the boiling water exploding out of the cup."Risk of Burns from Eruptions of Hot Water Overheated in Microwave Ovenshttp://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/erupted.html"If you're really worried about this happening to you, follow theadvice and leave some non-metallic object (such as a wooden spoon orstir stick) in the cup when you boil water in the microwave."Consumers need to be cautious that water boiled in a microwave ovencan suddenly "explode."http://www.snopes.com/science/microwav.htmHope that helps!--MissySearch terms: and daily practical application.

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